Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has agreed that he will need to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in person to resolve the country’s ongoing war.
According to the Express, the Russian dictator will meet Zelensky at some point, after the Ukrainian leader accused Russia of committing war crimes, following the bombardment of an art school and theater in Mariupol, where people had taken refuge.
Since the war began on February 24, the two leaders have allowed their diplomatic teams to hold peace negotiations on neutral ground.
According to BBC correspondent Lysa Doucet, Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly thought to have met with his top diplomats and has decided that he will have to attend the negotiation meeting with Zelenskyy.
According to Lysa, “The diplomats are talking, the negotiators are talking. We understand President Putin has finally agreed that he will meet, at some point, President Zelensky who has been asking for a meeting since January.
“He hasn’t said it in public, he says quite the opposite in public.”
Yesterday, Zelensky stated that Russia will forever be remembered as war crime offenders and condemned the invaders bombing and siege of Mariupol, the southern port city that has been battered by warplanes and missiles for weeks.
Zelenskyy said, “To do this to a peaceful city… is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come.”
He noted that peace talks with Russia are ‘not easy and pleasant.’
According to reports, Kyiv has demanded that one or more Western nuclear powers be included in talks with Russia, as well as legally obligatory security guarantees for Ukraine.
However, Chancellor Rishi Sunak today urged a ‘degree of skepticism’ about any potential peace deal in Ukraine, citing an official in Zelensky’s office who told the Press that the main topic discussed between the two countries last week was if Russian troops would remain in separatist regions in eastern Ukraine after the war and where the borders would be.
However, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna told Sky News today that in future peace talks, her country will not lose any territory to Russia.
She said, “Ukrainian territory is a territory which has been fixed in 1991.
“Within its entirety and internationally recognized border, it’s not only the position of Ukraine, it’s the position of the whole world enshrined in numerous decisions of the UN Security Council… so that is not an option for discussion.
“Of course, there might be room for discussion on the reintegration of those territories that have been under occupation for the last eight years.’
“I can say that the feeling of the political priority is still there, while the ultimate agenda of today is the ceasefire and the security guarantees.”
She started that genocide was been committed against her people.
“I absolutely believe it (is a genocide). I am a lawyer myself and I commit myself to implementation of the decision.”